As I was driving on the newly re-worked Lucas St in Beaumont, TX this morning I spotted a bicyclist. Bicycles don't take a lot of room on the side of the lane. I drive a very small car (Toyota Corolla). Because of the vegetation (bushes, branches, remaining hurricane debris) on the side of the road, he had to take more of the lane than usual. So, I felt compelled to change lanes as I passed this peddaler.

His front basket was loaded with several plastic bags and a large package of those necessary, rolled paper products sat like a crown atop his trove. As I passed him at a safe distance, it was obvious he had just been to the grocery store.

I continued to drive in the shadow of a Gigantic DODGE manly man's truck, ya know, the kind that get 8 mpg... and my mind raced (that's the only part of me that races). Look at this beautiful, wide ribbon of roadway! It's so wide... and "it" occurred to me: Hey, there's plenty of

room here for these big behemoths and a bicycle. It only makes sense that in an area where we have smog alerts and in a state where our obesity has been recognized nationally, bicycles are environmentally friendly and physically engaging and we should accomodate the cyclist. Bicycles need to be woven into the fabric of our community so thay can be included - safely - into our lives.

In his February 2006 State of the Union Address, President Bush officially requested that we reduce our reliance on foreign oil, which is all the more reason to DO SOMETHING and SOON! Next the Surgeon Genral will want us to do something about our waistlines. . .